How Will Boston Bombings Change Road Races?

As the running community continues to process the bombings at the Boston Marathon, race directors are confronting a new reality: a road race can be a target for terrorism. Precisely how the bombings will affect race security will take shape over the coming months, but many race and city officials have begun to evaluate what measures can be taken to better secure the roads.

“Security is something our sport has quietly talked about behind the scenes since 9/11,” says Ryan Lamppa, spokesman for the industry organization Running USA. Though Boston marks the first time a U.S. marathon has been targeted directly, every large road race in the country has strong safety protocols already in place, and the attack in Boston will help officials improve existing practices.

The task is daunting, especially compared to securing sporting events held at stadiums. Large races feature tens of thousands of runners and spectators, and span miles of road. The inability to control access, check bags and funnel people through metal detectors are among the challenges.

“You cannot 100 percent guarantee safety at an open event like a marathon, but you can have excellent security,” says Sal Lifrieri, owner of the security consulting firm Protective Countermeasures and former director of security and intelligence operations for New York City during Rudy Giulani’s administration.

Intelligence reviews, site sweeps, risk assessments at key areas like bridges, and crowd control and check points at high-traffic locations including the start and finish line can offer a high measure of protection and preparedness, Lifrieri says.

Officials with the New York Road Runners, Boston Athletic Association and Chicago Marathon declined requests to discuss safety for this article, but all three released statements after the bombing that they’re conducting comprehensive security reviews.

The Pittsburgh Marathon offers insight into what such an assessment entails. Staff is in constant communication with local police, fire, and Department of Homeland Security officials leading up to the race, scheduled for May 5 this year.

Pittsburgh hires an outside security firm to augment municipal resources, a common practice at big-city races. As in past years, the course and the start and finish lines areas will be swept for bombs. The events in Boston, however, have prompted officials to reevaluate where and how frequently those sweeps will occur.

Scott Dickey, chief operating officer for Competitor Group, which puts on 35 Rock ’n’ Roll events a year, says it’s taking a hard look at security before hosting 30,000 runners at the Country Music Marathon in Nashville on April 27. Considerations include the possibility of adding checkpoints at the finish line and increasing officers at high-density locations.

One of the keys to strong security is diligence in the months leading up to a race, says Ray DeMichiei, the city of Pittsburgh’s deputy director of emergency management and homeland security. Those preparations are constantly being fine-tuned. In 2010, for example, a bomb scare at the Pittsburgh Marathon’s finish line prompted officials to alter the course mid-race. Now, because of improved groundwork and increased patrol, a similar incident wouldn’t necessitate such measures, he says.

Lessons will no doubt emerge from Boston. Race directors frequently share best practices, and Lamppa anticipates that the Boston Athletic Association will communicate a list of potential improvements to the race-management community.

One likely result will be changes at finish lines. The Houston Marathon is scrutinizing its current set-up, weighing whether to keep the bleachers open to the public or add fences.

“I don’t know if we want to close off and credential our seating area, but we do at least need to check bags and backpacks,” says race director Brant Kotch.

Following the 2010 bomb scare, Pittsburgh increased the amount and height of the chain-link fence at its finish line. Now spectators watch the race’s final yards through the metal.

Matamoros insists that the added protection hasn’t affect the marathon’s fun factor and that additional steps wouldn’t diminish race quality. “After the bombing of the Olympics in Atlanta, the Olympic Committee has been able to incorporate security along with the spirit of the Games,” she says. “The running industry will do the same and be better for it.”

That attitude is shared by multiple race directors. The consensus among those interviewed for this article is that the big-race experience of the future will match the energetic atmosphere of the past.

Security experts agree. While runners and spectators might encounter minor inconveniences at more road races—like random bag checks and corralled finish lines—security can be heightened without dampening the race’s spirit.

“What runners will probably see is greater access control, more checkpoints, maybe even a ticket system at finish lines,” says Lifrieri. But most increased measures will be indirect: greater pre-race preparation, and more bomb-sniffing dogs, security personnel and surveillance cameras.

Such changes will come with a cost. “We can and will heighten security, but my $5 million budget will go to $6 million, and if that means a registration fee increase, I hope runners would understand that,” says Kotch.

George Hirsch, the former Runner’s World publisher who is now the NYRR’s board chair, welcomes heightened security, but senses the future of big marathons is unknown.

“The confluence of the Hurricane Sandy marathon cancellation and now Boston will have an indelible, long-time effect on major marathons,” he said in an email. “Marathon organizers will now be looking at cancellation insurance, overall race security and many other issues in a new light, and city governments, runners, television and other stakeholders will be asking many new questions that may help define the mega races of the future.”

Preventing violence has been and will remain a top priority, says DeMichiei. But, he adds, response is a critical part of the safety equation and that, because of running’s physical nature, road races score well in this regard; medical teams, from first responders to nurses and doctors, are present throughout the event, able to react quickly when something happens. Volunteers and spectators increase the eyes and ears on the lookout for any problem.

“Historically, heat or another weather or medical event has been our main concern and will remain a primary safety issue,” says Demichiei. “But the terrorism threat is there.”

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